Bringing clean African electrons to Europe
Interconnectors will play a more prominent role in European electricity in the 2030s, writes Matthew Lynas. Plans are afoot to increase links between European nations and there are ambitious hopes for intercontinental connections.
North Africa offers solar irradiance in abundance. Mediterranean African nations, in the “solar belt,” boast a generation profile less intermittent than Europe’s. Investors see potential. Analysis from Rystad Energy found proposed North Africa-to-Europe interconnectors could transfer energy from 24 GW of generation capacity. It looks unlikely that all of these will materialize.
Interconnectors linking Africa and Europe are not a new idea. There are currently two high-voltage cables linking Morocco with Spain, each with 700 MW of transmission capacity. A third cable linking the two nations is in development and there are much longer planned connections attracting financial backing.
Nivedh Das Thaikoottathil, senior analyst for renewables and power at Rystad Energy, highlighted three major projects: Xlinks, connecting the United Kingdom and Morocco; the GREGY initiative between Greece and Egypt; and Elmed joining Tunisia and Italy.
“The reason I say these interconnectors stand out from the rest is in terms of project developments and financing,” Thaikoottathil told pv magazine. “If we look at Xlinks, the project is estimated to cost around $27 billion to $30 billion but they’ve been able to raise a bit of investment, I think $110 million, and the majority of this will go into surveying along the planned route of the cable,” he said.
Project developers may have made progress on finance, but it will take more than money to link North Africa with Europe. Thaikoottathil warned that, at present, global supply for high-voltage and extra-high voltage subsea cable sits at around 9,000 km per year. That will not be enough. Going by the announced manufacturing capacity in development, that could hit 16,000 km per year by 2030, however, Rystad Energy projects demand could be as high as 75,000 km by then.
It is a big challenge but, if overcome, then there’s significant potential for interconnectors to add further diversity to European grids in the 2030s, reducing dependency on gas imports in the process.
“If you include Xlinks, GREGY, and Elmed-Tunita, basically the total adds up to 7.2 GW [of capacity],” said Thaikoottathil. “This would essentially translate to over 50 TWh being exported to Europe (annually). That is assuming these interconnectors operate at maximum capacity. In terms of diversification, it’s a starting point because most of these countries – that is UK, Greece, and Italy – which are receiving this power, they have gas making up at least one third of their power mix.”
Morocco to United KingdomMorocco was the only African nation with interconnectors running to Europe in 2024. Two connections with Spain are in operation, with a third on the way, and an ambitious project with credible investors has proposed a record-breaking link with Northern Europe.
Xlinks would be the world’s largest interconnector, if it comes to fruition. The plan is to run 4,000 km of high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cable from Morocco to the United Kingdom, exploiting the former’s abundant renewables potential. Progress has been made. Xlinks has agreed grid connections for two 1.8 GW interconnectors with Britain’s electricity system operator. In Morocco, Xlinks plans 7 GW of solar and 4.5 GW of wind capacity alongside a 22.5 GWh battery, according to Rystad Energy.
The project has attracted investors. In 2023, French utility Total Energies invested GBP 20 million ($26 million) and Octopus Energy and the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company are on board.
Dave Lewis, former boss of UK supermarket giant Tesco, chairs the project. Other key figures include vice chair Paddy Padmanathan, former president and CEO of Arabian developer ACWA Power, and CEO Simon Morrish.
Energization is a long way off, but Xlinks has taken steps toward planning approval. The project will require a development consent order (DCO) from the UK government for approximately 370 km of HVDC cables that would be laid within UK waters, as well as the final 14 km of onshore cabling connecting Moroccan renewables with the Alverdiscott, 400 kV substation in Devon, England. Xlinks was expected to submit its DCO application in November 2024, as pv magazine went to press. Should the UK government accept the application, a lengthy examination period will follow.
If planning consent is secured, other obstacles remain. Sourcing enough cable could pose challenges. To combat this, the project developer has set up a separate company, XLCC, tasked with establishing an HVDC subsea cable manufacturing plant. XLCC secured planning consent in 2022 from North Ayrshire Council, Scotland, to build a cable factory at a former coal and iron port located a stone’s throw from the Hunterston B nuclear power station, which stopped generating electricity in 2022.
Customized/OEM/ODM Service
HomSolar Supports Lifepo4 battery pack customization/OEM/ODM service, welcome to contact us and tell us your needs.
HomSolar: Your One-stop LiFePO4 Battery Pack & ESS Solution Manufacturer
Our line of LiFePO4 (LFP) batteries offer a solution to demanding applications that require a lighter weight, longer life, and higher capacity battery. Features include advanced battery management systems (BMS), Bluetooth® communication and active intelligent monitoring.
Customised Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery Casing
ABS plastic housing, aluminium housing, stainless steel housing and iron housing are available, and can also be designed and customised according to your needs.
HomSolar Smart BMS
Intelligent Battery Management System for HomSolar Energy Storage System. Bluetooth, temperature sensor, LCD display, CAN interface, UART interface also available.
Terminals & Plugs Can Be Customized
A wide range of terminals and plugs can be customised to suit the application needs of your battery products.
Well-designed Solutions for Energy Storage Systems
We will design the perfect energy storage system solution according to your needs, so that you can easily solve the specific industry applications of battery products.
About Our Battery Cells
Our energy storage system products use brand new grade A LiFePO4 cells with a battery lifespan of more than 4,000 charge/discharge cycles.
Applications in Different Industries
We supply customized & OEM battery pack, assemble cells with wiring, fuse and plastic cover, all the cell wires connected to PCB plug or built BMS.
Applications: E-bike, Electric Scooter, Golf Carts, RV, Electric Wheelchair, Electric Tools, Robot Cleaner, Robot Sweeper, Solar Energy Storage System, Emergency Light, Solar Power Light, Medical Equipment, UPS Backup Power Supply.
We can provide you with customized services. We have the ability to provide a vertical supply chain, from single cells to pack/module and to a complete power solution with BMS, etc.
HomSolar (Shenzhen) Technology Co., Ltd
